Category Archives: pots and containers

Summer’s Bounty

Man cannot live by tomatoes alone. (The first dahlia opened today.) There’s no way I’m going to keep the garden moist enough simply for a few dahlias to thrive, but I’d hate to face August and September without them. So … Continue reading

Posted in Bulbs, edibles, pots and containers | Tagged , | 9 Comments

Sherman Gardens & Library

I took the day off yesterday to check out some local nurseries for dahlias and eucomis in flower. (All my eucomis were bought as bulbs, some with leaves purportedly of varieties as dark or darker than ‘Oakhurst,’ but all instead … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, design, garden travel, garden visit, Plant Portraits, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Sean Hogan at Flora Grubb Gardens

On Sunday, July 17, 2011, Sean Hogan of Cistus Nursery, Portland, Oregon, gave a talk at Flora Grubb Gardens in San Francisco, California, entitled “The Art of the Rosette.” I’ve visited Cistus Nursery twice, so I know first-hand that it’s … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, Bulbs, MB Maher, pots and containers, succulents, The Hortorialist | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Succulent Experiments

Crassula expansa subsp. fragilis was planted this past May in these car jack stands, using window screening to hold the soil in, first pictured here near the bottom of the post. Unlike my mossy experiments, this crassula is growing much … Continue reading

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Occasional Daily Photo 7/11/11

Brugmansia hybrid ‘Charles Grimaldi.’ Incredibly voluptuous, scented trumpets…on a plant that rivals the hybrid tea rose for awkward growth and ugly legs. Just haven’t found the right approach yet to placing these subtropical shrubs in a zone 10 landscape, where … Continue reading

Posted in Occasional Daily Photo, Plant Portraits, pots and containers | Tagged | 7 Comments

Occasional Daily Photo 7/7/11

Echeveria runyonii ‘Topsy Turvy’ in an urn at Big Daddy’s. (At the end of the month, Big Daddy’s will be moving from its Gardena location to Culver City and may possibly be more inclined to discount inventory rather than pack … Continue reading

Posted in design, garden ornament, Occasional Daily Photo, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Plant Societies

Why has it taken me so long to check out local plant societies? I’ve been a member of the various conservancies, The Mediterranean Garden Society, but membership was mostly in a passive sense, as a means to attend tours and … Continue reading

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, garden travel, garden visit, Plant Portraits, pots and containers, shop talk, succulents | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Garden Tasks, Dogs & Productivity

I work at home most days of the week and keep this guy fairly close all day. Working alone all day with a dog instead of people has some interesting ramifications. I’m not sure if it makes me any more … Continue reading

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Hortus Chaotica

So many contradictions, so little time. A love of spare, austere, sculptural plantings. Yet every summer I still invite the circus to camp in my garden.

Posted in agaves, woody lilies, Occasional Daily Photo, Plant Portraits, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Kalanchoe delagoensis x daigremontiana “Pink Butterflies”

The entire name wouldn’t even fit in the post title: Kalanchoe delagoensis x daigremontiana ‘Pink Butterflies.’ How fitting that a hybrid with a parent commonly known as ‘Mother of Thousands’ would have a name involving syllables of thousands. I’ve had … Continue reading

Posted in Plant Portraits, pots and containers, succulents | Tagged , , , , , , | 46 Comments